Hassan II of Morocco

Hassan II of Morocco (9 July 1929-23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 26 February 1961 to 23 July 1999, succeeding Mohammed V and preceding Mohammed VI.

Biography
Hassan was born in the royal palace at Rabat, Morocco in 1929, and he studied law in Bordeaux and was soon active at his father's court. He accompanied him into exile in 1953, and in 1957 became crown prince and commander-in-chief of the armed forces Thus groomed in political and military affairs, he succeeded his father in 1961. From 1965 to 1977, he ruled from decree, and overcame coup attempts in 1971, 1972, and 1973. He relaxed his authoritarian rule (without ever relinquishing his grip on politics) after occupying the Western Sahara, and thus united the country's nationalist forces behind him. However, the long guerrilla war that followed exhausted his army and his country's economic resources, which he had worked hard to improve. He was able to resist domestic pressures mounting in the 1990s for democratization, mainly through the loyalty of the army. His continued defiance of the United Nations was enabled by tacit support from the United States and France, which welcomed his pro-Western stance. He was the first Arab leader to denounce Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and was the third Arab leader to create diplomatic links with Israel on 1 September 1994. He died in 1999.